A LIFE in theatre

Veteran artiste Thammanam Gopi looks back on the vicissitudes of his life on stage. He was recently accorded the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi's Gurupooja award, 2014

May 22, 2015 08:22 pm | Updated 08:22 pm IST

Thammanam Gopi : There is a revival of interest in theatre, which is why we get at least a 100 stages.

Thammanam Gopi : There is a revival of interest in theatre, which is why we get at least a 100 stages.

Thammanam Gopi’s story wears the smell of greasepaint; it speaks of nights spent on stages across the State – on temple grounds or at church festivals, of large stages and sometimes small gigs. It is a tale of dwindling drama samithis , fewer shows and of the ups and downs of the theatre movement in the State.

One of his admirers, Thammanam Babu sums it up, “Gopi chettan , for the last 46 years has lived with us – he has made people cry, laugh, angry, think…he has lived theatre.” Gopi was recently awarded the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi’s Gurupooja award for 2014.

Babu, a former actor and a director, says he was influenced by Gopi so much that he chose drama, professional and amateur, as a career. “I grew up watching his plays. His performances were impactful. I became an actor, and later director, because of him.” Sitting in his office, Gopi savours the compliment.

“It’s a love that started very early. Ever since I learnt of theatre, I have wanted to be part of it. My father found me jobs so that I’d be ‘gainfully’ employed in so many places but my heart was here. And to his credit, he has always encouraged the artiste in me.”

When he was around 20, he acted in Cochin Sangamitra’s ‘Sooryaaghatam’ which catapulted him to drama stardom. After that it has been a steady flow of roles and stages.

He has acted on more than 10,000 stages. Something he is proud of, his longevity on stage. There have been the ups and downs, but he is content with how his professional life played out.

His 46 years include the glory days of theatre when the arrival of an actor (drama) was an occasion to celebrate, “there was a sukham (pleasure) in those days…we would be received as film stars are today.” Those days actors like him, he says, would have at least 300 stages (performances) per year. Today a hundred stages are a bonus. As a result there is a paucity of actors, youngsters especially; as a result plays have been shelved. “There is no money. It is impossible to support a family on earnings from these. In the old days we used to get an advance of Rs.1, 50,000.”

The drama samithis (akin to repertory companies) have dwindled. “There was a time when there were around 20-25 samithis , today there are hardly a couple of noteworthy ones.”

He has worked with samithis such as Cochin Sangamitra, Cochin Anupama, Cherthala Yavanika, Kottayam Drisya Vedi, Thrissur Vasundhara, Thiruvananthapuram Keli among others. For several years he was with Keli as manager and artiste and with Cochin Sangamitra for 11 years.

That is not to say he hasn’t had his tryst with films and television, he appeared in a number of television serials and films such as Pranayavarnangal and Pathram . “Films are tedious, it involves a lot of networking which I am not up to. I have always enjoyed doing theatre and this is where I will be as long as I am alive.” There would have been the hardships – the travel, life at the drama camps – but none of that mattered.

“Conditions are better today than they were seven to eight years back. There is a revival of interest, which is why we get at least a100 stages. The Akademi has the weekly staging at the Fine Arts Hall which is a big push to the theatre movement in the State.”

He recollects the days when a single play was staged for seven consecutive days. Recreation clubs of organisations such as HMT, the Cochin Shipyard and several others would sign on these samithis . “I remember a time when the Shipyard’s recreation club staged the same play for two days in a row. The crowds were that huge. Today, who is interested? There is some or the other serial to watch on television, very few people want to come out and watch a play.”

Times are changing; although he has been part of both professional and amateur drama, he now prefers the latter. The experimental nature of amateur drama appeals to him as opposed to the exaggerated actions and dialogues of the former. That is adapting, possibly why he has survived this long in the business.

“It is inevitable. Kids in the audience will tell you what to do. There is no time for long-drawn out action. The script and action has to be taut. Acting is all the same, technology has, of course, eased the strain of getting the audience to hear the dialogues.” He is a gripping story-teller, as he narrates the story of a play he is acting in, ‘Theenmeshayile Durantham’ or ‘Mathaiyude Maranam’, one can visualise the action.

The sixty-five year-old, whose looks belie his years, is gearing up for a trip to the United States of America where two of his plays will be staged – ‘Vishudha Geevarghese Punyalan’ and ‘Thomas Sleeha’.

“I don’t have the vices attributed to most theatre professionals. I lead a socially active and healthy life…possibly that’s why I have lasted this long. And more than as an actor I am grateful for the friends I have made in this journey.”

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